Early Childhood Education: History, Theory, and Practice

by Harry Morgan

In this volume, Harry Morgan covers the history, theory, and practices that influence early childhood education with an emphasis on infant and toddler care and education. He also presents a comparison of the conflict between educational planners who support early childhood studies and state school systems whose cost-saving measures are dismantling traditional early childhood programs to conform to their misinterpretation of the No Child Left Behind Act. Early Childhood Education provides: _

180 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2006

Reviews

[Marissa Morrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot from this book, although the author's use of language struck me as oddly indirect at times. Morgan traces the rise of the kindergarten movement and summarizes the ideas of people like Piaget, Froebel, Dewey and Montessori. Current threats to kindergarten include the high-stakes tests mandated by No Child Left Behind and the subsequent rush to make kindergarten more academic. Kindergarten was once the domain of private social organizations, but now that kindergarten is offered in public schools the line between early education and elementary education is less clear. (Early education historically focused on "How children learn," while elementary ed. focused on "What children should learn.") Head Start has been limited by teacher quality, a result of low wages and meager educational requirements for the teachers. Morgan links school violence to our nation's wars. He provides what seems like a sensible guide to promoting literacy in young children, and advises parents about what to look for in preschool and kindergarten classrooms.

[Amber]

1 copy available